Masquerade
by Aiyoku Saotome
Summary: Luna hides her true self behind her hateful nickname because bullying is easier to take when directed at a false persona. When McGonagall announces a Phantom of the Opera themed masquerade, Luna can hardly contain her excitement. This was a chance for her to be herself. At the ball, her care-free spirit catches the attention of someone else who is using his mask to be himself.


**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Phantom of the Opera or Harry Potter. I only own this idea for my story.**

 **Please be aware that this is NOT a crossover! And I hope you enjoy!**

Full Summary:

 **Luna Lovegood isn't as loony as her hateful nickname suggests. She hides her intelligence and true self from the world, ironically so people will leave her alone. The world isn't ready for such an open mind like hers and she knew that she would be bullied more severely if she let herself free. So she takes the nicknames and teasing because it's the better of two evils, no matter how much Ginny and her father disagree. They are the only two her mask is invisible to, and being around them is the only time when she can truly be herself.**

 **So when the school announces the Phantom of the Opera themed masquerade winter ball, she can hardly contain her excitement. This was a chance for her to be herself and have fun in public, and no one would know who she was. No one would care. It was just one night - but it was the world to her. She even decides to join the group doing the opening for the ball - all she would need to know is the choreography, as she already knew the song, to be learned at their rehearsals under an altered appearance charm so no one would know she was part of it.**

 **At the ball, her care-free spirit and role in the opening skit captures the attention of someone who is also there to be himself. They fall into an intense, secret, and rocky relationship because she refuses to tell him who she is, and convinces him to not tell her who he is. They would take on the appearances they had at the ball whenever they met in the astronomy tower or the Room of Requirement. But one day, she does find out who he is, and it sends her into a downward spiral because he is the one person who would never want her real self. Or, so she thinks.**

* * *

 _"Masquerade, paper faces on parade, masquerade... hide your face so the world will never find you."_

* * *

"Goodbye, my angel. I'll miss you."

She hugged him fiercely and held back her tears. "Me too, daddy."

She took a breath, sculpted her face into the not-all-there look she was famous for, and slid her psychological mask into place. Her father frowned, as he did every time he dropped her off at King's Cross Station. She took her luggage and boarded the train, smiling as she walked past the stares. She was used to ignoring them, as she had been dealing with them every year since she started at Hogwarts.

"Luna!"

She turned and spotted the one person aside from her father that understood and accepted her, and loved her for who she was. She smiled, a real one this time. "Ginny. It's so good to see you."

Ginny gave her a bone-crushing hug. "I missed you so much! Most of my brothers are too butt-headed to have an intellectual or deep conversation with. Well I can with Fred and George but they're always gone, and Bill rarely even visits… at least you have your dad to talk to."

This brought a laugh out of Luna. "Believe me, I missed you too."

"Hi Luna."

"Oh, hi Ron." She squinted at him, then reached into her pocket, pulled out her big pink nargle glasses, and put them on. "My, are you feeling alright? You've got quite a lot of nargles flying around your head."

"Erm... right. Well, nice to see you. Hey Gin, have you seen Hermione?"

"Ron, she came with us to the station."

"Well I can't find her, now."

"I haven't seen her since I ran off to find Luna, but she _is_ Head Girl and she probably had to report to McGonagall. So she's probably going to decline it, since she told us at home that she didn't want that position after everything that happened. Why do you need her so badly, anyway? You see her all the time. Surely you can wait a little longer?"

"I need to... ask her something. Okay well, see you."

"Being open with yourself gets rid of the nargles, Ron."

"Er, okay. Bye."

Ginny shook her head, then glanced at Luna. "Why do you do that?"

"What?"

"The loony thing. Make people think you're crazy."

"Was I supposed to just not let him know? He looked like his head was fuzzy. Let's go find a compartment."

Ginny understood Luna more than anyone except Luna's father, and knew that Luna truly means what she says even if it sounds strange. Whenever Luna talked about nargles, it was her way of saying the person seemed like they were thinking too much about something and couldn't think straight. But Ginny also knew that Luna made her voice and persona stranger and more air-headed on purpose. She seemed to shake her head a lot at her friends. She sighed and followed.

After thirty minutes of settling down in their compartment, during which Harry, Ron, and Neville joined them, Hermione came barrelling in and startled them all.

"Hermione! What the hell is wrong with you?" Ron exclaimed.

"Malfoy. Malfoy is Head Boy."

"WHAT?!" came a chorused reply.

"I can't turn down Head Girl. Not when he's my competition. So I accepted."

* * *

"Draco!" came a shriek.

Draco braced himself for the giant Pansy hug he knew was coming. "OOF! _Must_ you do that every year?"

"For the eighth time, yes! Especially because we're free, now! I get to hug you as a free Slytherin!"

Draco shook his head at his crazy friend. "Careful there, people might start calling you Loony Parkinson."

"LET them, I don't care. We can finally have a school year without Voldemort! Why, I could KISS Potter. Oh stop it you two, you look like goldfish. Close your mouths, it's unbecoming. By the way, hi Blaise!"

"I can't believe you just SAID that. And it's unbecoming to be prancing around shouting about Voldemort and kissing Potter."

Pansy rolled her eyes. "Oh it's just a statement. It's not like I'm actually going to kiss him. I'm happy, leave me alone."

"You're crazy, you broad," Blaise said. "And where's MY Pansy hug, huh? Why does Draco get one and I don't? OOF! I take it back... ow... Pansy... get off me..."

She pinched his cheek and practically skipped down the aisle to find an empty compartment.

Blaise glanced at Draco. "That girl has gone nutters."

Draco snorted. "When hasn't she been nutters?"

"More nutters, then."

"For a good reason, though. If I didn't have a reputation to keep, I'd be dancing down the corridor, too."

"We have a chance for a fresh start, mate. You don't have that reputation anymore. You can finally be yourself now that he's gone."

"You know I can't just suddenly be myself. That bad, mean, 'evil' prince attitude has been forced into me for eighteen years so Voldemort wouldn't think I'm weak. It has become part of me, and that's all people know. I can't shed it just like that. People will think I've really gone nuts. Not just Pansy nuts, Lovegood nuts."

"You could, actually. It's just really hard. You don't have to fully change it. You can still be cold and calculative on the outside to people you don't want to let in, as most Slytherins do. That's not strange. But you can let your guard down a little. It won't hurt. Think about it, Draco. Let's go chill out and forget about the war for the next few hours, yeah?"

"With Pansy bouncing around the compartment, that won't be too hard." They snickered.

Pansy stuck her head out of a room further down the aisle. "I heard that! Get your butts in here!"

"Coming, your highness."

Pansy threw her sweater at Blaise. He stopped in his tracks and put his arm out to stop Draco. "Draco! Don't get any closer! That sweater is a dangerous creature! I'll go first… you run ahead! Don't wait for me!"

"But Blaise, how ever will I manage without you?"

"Here's my secret – just bribe Pansy with licorice wands and she'll do whatever you want."

"GET YOUR ASSES IN HERE!"

They laughed all the way to Hogwarts.

* * *

Ron, Harry, Hermione, Ginny, Luna, and Neville all found each other before the train arrived at Hogsmeade Station, and shuffled towards the door together. Just as they were about to exit, they came face-to-face with Draco, Blaise, and Pansy. They all stood there for a few seconds, none of them able to say anything. The Slytherins helped them win the war, but they was still an awkwardness between them. Seven years of harshness didn't just dissipate overnight.

It was Pansy who broke the ice. She walked up to Harry and hugged him fiercely. Everyone was equally shocked, and poor Harry didn't know what to do. He glanced at Draco and Blaise for help, but they just looked at each other.

"Thank you," she said. "Thank you so much, Potter. "

"Er, for what?"

"For freeing us." She stepped back. "I know it's more important that you saved the world... but to us, you freed us from a lifetime of darkness and cruelty. You saved our lives. We are finally free because of you. All of you," she addressed the rest of them.

"You're... you're welcome," Harry said, still in shock. "Thank you for helping us."

Pansy smiled. "You all have so many incredible friends who are willing to die for each other. Cherish that." Then she turned and walked out of the train, a bewildered Draco and Blaise following her.

"What was that about?" Blaise asked as they walked towards the carriages, that now had visible thestrals to all who participated in the war.

"I felt the need to thank him. Them. But mostly him. If it wasn't for him, we'd still be under Voldemort's control."

"True... but are you sure you aren't a closet Gryffindor?"

Pansy wrinkled her nose at him. "Why do you ask?"

"That was brave. Most Slytherins wouldn't have done that."

"Say thank you? That's not about bravery, it's about shoving your pride away and being grateful."

"Yeah," Draco interjected, "brave."

She shrugged. "Whatever. That just means I have yet another thing over you two." She cackled as they glared their best at her.

Having caught this interaction from the carriage behind them, the Gryffindors and Luna glanced at each other and smiled. Except Ron, who just looked uncomfortable.

"That was strange," Ron said.

"That they can let their guards down and finally be normal teenagers?" Hermione challenged. She kept her voice low so the Slytherins wouldn't hear, but their carriage took off just then so it didn't matter.

"Well... yeah. We've always known them as hateful gits. And now, they're joking around with each other like we do, Parkinson's thanking and hugging Harry, and they haven't said a single bad thing to us, yet. Not saying it's bad, just saying it's weird."

"It is," Harry added. "But... they're right. It was brave of her. It's hard to say thank you, especially after having to pretend you're a bad person for most of your life."

"I don't think they've changed," Hermione said. "I just think they can finally be themselves, thanks to you."

"Us, Hermione."

"We may have helped you, Harry, and without us, you wouldn't have won. But because you exist, we were able to defeat Voldemort. So really, it _is_ you."

Harry stayed quiet, even while the rest of his friends began to chatter during the rest of the ride to the castle. Pansy's hug really affected him, but he couldn't figure out why. It felt good to have affected someone like that, especially someone who was on the other side for so long. But that was his inner Slytherin talking. He always felt good about helping people, but this was different. He didn't just help her. He freed her. He saved her life. He wasn't sure how to think or feel about that. She said he saved all of their lives, but if Draco and Blaise felt the same, they didn't and probably wouldn't express it. And when he saw her interacting with the boys in their carriage, he had smiled. Ron was right; they had never seen the Slytherins truly smile, or laugh, or cry, or even be friendly with themselves. They refused to show it, he supposed, to anyone beyond closed doors because of who they were forced to be affiliated with. He shook his head to clear it; they were getting off the carriage. He thought he would talk to Hermione later. She would understand, and would have insightful things to say to him.

* * *

"One hundred new students in Gryffindor alone," Ginny breathed. "Wow. I guess now that Voldemort's gone, everyone feels the need to fill Hogwarts to capacity."

"What _is_ its capacity?" Ron asked.

"Well technically, one hundred per house per year, which is two thousand eight hundred in total, but Dumbledore never turned anyone down so McGonagall won't, either. She'd rather build a whole new section of the school than turn students away, which is why all of the houses were expanded." Everyone stared at Hermione. "What? Are you _surprised_ I know those numbers?"

There was a murmur of agreement and Hermione rolled her eyes. They heard a loud tapping and everyone turned to the front of the Great Hall to see McGonagall at the podium. "Congratulations to the new students on your sorting, and to the rest of you - welcome back. I am Professor McGonagall, your headmistress. Before I begin, I want to thank everyone for the help given in the final battle and in rebuilding our school. I will be forever grateful. We will have a memorial service tomorrow to those who were lost one year ago. It will be held at five pm before dinner at the lake. Now... know that the Forbidden Forest is, as it's name _implies_ , forbidden. No student is to be found out and about after hours without a signed note from a professor, head student, or a prefect. The portraits do not keep your secrets no matter what you may believe, and finally, we have added a new tradition to the school year - a Yule Ball." There were "oohs" and "aahs" throughout the large room. "There was a Yule Ball four years ago, and Professor Dumbledore and I thought it would be a nice addition to Hogwarts to have one every year, but we never started the tradition. I have decided to do this now, especially after the events that occurred one year ago. I will announce the theme on a later date."

Luna looked down at the Gryffindor table where she always sat, and Ginny took her hand. "I won't go," she told Luna.

"Don't be silly, Ginny. Someone will definitely ask you."

"No. I won't go because I know you won't go. You hate things like this and I will stay with you. Either that, or we'll go together and show the arseholes that we can have more fun than them."

"The theatre department has decided to do a short musical number at the beginning of the ball, which will also be announced once we decide on a theme for the Yule ball. If you have any ideas for a theme, please bring them to Professor Landgraab. As for now..." She waved her wand and food appeared on the tables.

* * *

 **I hope you enjoyed the first chapter :)**


End file.
